LUNDIN MINING Q4 AND FULL YEAR 2012 PRODUCTION RESULTS
1/22/2013 5:21 PM EST
Lundin Mining Corporation
Company Announcement
LUNDIN MINING Q4 AND FULL YEAR 2012 PRODUCTION RESULTS
Toronto, January 22, 2013 (TSX: LUN; OMX: LUMI) Lundin Mining Corporation
(“Lundin Mining” or the “Company”) reports the following production results for
the fourth quarter and full year 2012:
Metal Production FY Q4
(contained tonnes) 2012 2012
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Copper, wholly-owned operations 63,878 14,224
Tenke attributable (24%) 38,172 10,669
Total Copper 102,050 24,893
Zinc 122,204 29,161
Lead 38,464 8,353
Nickel 2,398 1,705
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Paul Conibear, President and CEO commented, “We are pleased to achieve the
high-end of our production guidance targets for 2012 at each of our operations.
Zinkgruvan had a particularly successful year with new records set for
production of zinc, lead and copper. Tenke also set new copper production
records as Phase II expanded facilities came on line. All of our assets are
very well positioned to deliver a solid performance again this year.”
Segmented production and guidance is as follows:
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2012 2012 Production 2013 Guidance
Productio
n
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(contained Results Guidance Production C1
tonnes) Costb,c
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Copper Neves- 58,559 55,000 - 60,000 50,000 - 55,000 $1.80/l
Corvo b
Zinkgruvan 3,059 3,000 – 4,000 2,500 – 3,500
Aguablanca 2,260 1,500 – 2,000 4,500 – 5,000
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Wholly-owne 63,878 59,500 – 66,000 57,000 – 63,500
d
Tenke 38,172 36,200 44,650a $1.03/l
(@24%) b
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Total 102,050 95,700 – 101,650 - 108,150
attributab 102,200
le
Zinc Neves-Corvo 30,006 25,000 - 30,000 45,000 - 50,000
Zinkgruvan 83,209 77,000 – 83,000 73,000 – 78,000 $0.20/l
b
Galmoy (in 8,989 8,500 – 9,000 nil
ore)
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Total 122,204 110,500 – 118,000 – 128,000
122,000
Lead Neves-Corvo 87 nil nil
Zinkgruvan 37,246 34,000 -39,000 33,000 – 36,000
Galmoy (in 1,131 1,000 – 1,100 nil
ore)
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Total 38,464 35,000 – 40,100 33,000 – 36,000
Nickel Aguablanca 2,398 1,500 – 2,000 5,000 – 5,500 $5.00/l
b
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a. Freeport has provided 2013 sales guidance which has been assumed to
approximate Tenke’s production.
b. Cash costs remain dependent upon exchange rates (€/USD: 1.30, USD/SEK: 6.75)
and metal prices (Cu: $3.50, Zn: $0.95, Ni: $8.00, Co: $12.00).
c. Cash cost is a non-GAAP measure reflecting the sum of direct costs less
by-product credits.
Operational Commentary
-- Neves-Corvo:
Total copper production exceeded the original guidance for the year,
however overall grade of copper ore was lower than planned due to an
exceptional quantity of lower grade but profitable "Out of Reserve" ore
that was encountered and mined but was not part of the original mineral
reserve estimate. Approximately 42% of the copper ore mined in 2012 was Out
of Reserve. In the new copper mining zone of Lombador, 57% of the material
mined was Out of Reserve. Overall for 2012, Out of Reserve material graded
an average of 1.75% copper as compared to the Reserve material mined which
graded 3.28% copper. Net benefits of mining and processing this Out of
Reserve material include an extended mine life and overall long term higher
aggregate revenues. Underground drilling will be increased significantly
for 2013 to better define the extent of mineralization not currently in the
reserve estimates and mine plans.
Despite the lower than planned feed grades, Neves-Corvo copper plant
performance was excellent with 88.2% recovery achieved. Ramp-up of the zinc
plant continued in the quarter, with throughput approximately 75% higher than
the prior quarter and record quarterly, and annual, zinc metal production was
generated.
-- Zinkgruvan:
As expected, lower zinc and lead grades were realized in the fourth
quarter, though the impact on metal production was partially mitigated by
higher volumes processed than the prior two quarters and continued high
recovery performance in the process plant. Zinc, copper and lead grades and
plant recoveries met and in some cases were better than originally
anticipated. Zinkgruvan finished the year with record production of zinc,
lead and copper metal in concentrate.
-- Aguablanca:
Processing operations re-commenced in August, with full production
achieved earlier than planned in the fourth quarter of 2012, resulting in
higher than expected nickel and copper metal in concentrate production.
Grades mined and plant recoveries achieved for both nickel and copper were
slightly better than expected.
-- Galmoy:
Mining production from remnant ores exceeded expectations for the year.
Mining ceased in the fourth quarter of 2012, though processing of
stockpiled ore, by a third party processing facility, will continue into
2013. The mine closure plan has been approved by regulating authorities.
-- Tenke:
During 2012, Tenke achieved record mining and production rates facilitated
by the staged commissioning of Phase II expansion facilities. The Phase II
expansion is substantially complete, on schedule and on budget. By year
end, the expanded facilities were operating near full Phase II design
capacity and as reported by Freeport as Operator, overall fourth quarter
production of 44,452 tonnes of copper cathode was 91% of the expanded
annual design capacity of 195,000 tpa copper cathode. Freeport has provided
2013 metal sales guidance of 186,000 tonnes of copper cathode and 13,600
tonnes of cobalt (contained in cobalt hydroxide product).
Details of operating statistics by mine, by quarter and for the year follow in
the attached table:
2012 Operating Statistics
Total Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1
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Neves-Corvo
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Ore mined, copper (000 tonnes) 2,507 648 577 638 644
Ore mined, zinc (000 tonnes) 530 178 107 132 113
Ore milled, copper (000 tonnes) 2,512 648 597 634 633
Ore milled, zinc (000 tonnes) 543 181 104 135 123
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Grade per tonne
Copper (%) 2.6 2.2 2.7 2.8 2.9
Zinc (%) 7.3 7.1 7.2 7.2 7.6
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Recovery
Copper (%) 88.2 85.6 86.0 90.0 91.1
Zinc (%) 71.0 70.5 71.2 72.8 69.6
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Concentrate grade
Copper (%) 23.9 23.6 24.2 23.9 24.0
Zinc (%) 47.3 47.0 46.6 48.1 47.3
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Production (contained metal)
Copper (tonnes) 58,559 11,988 14,012 15,950 16,609
Zinc (tonnes) 30,006 9,533 5,834 7,619 7,020
Lead (tonnes) 87 39 48 - -
Zinkgruvan
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Ore mined, zinc (000 tonnes) 954 251 189 251 263
Ore mined, copper (000 tonnes) 157 40 46 44 27
Ore milled, zinc (000 tonnes) 998 254 216 241 287
Ore milled, copper (000 tonnes) 145 29 48 49 19
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Grade per tonne
Zinc (%) 9.1 8.2 10.1 10.7 7.7
Lead (%) 4.4 3.8 4.7 4.8 4.3
Copper (%) 2.3 2.5 2.0 2.2 3.0
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Recovery
Zinc (%) 91.7 89.2 91.9 93.5 91.8
Lead (%) 85.4 84.8 88.0 85.3 83.8
Copper (%) 91.8 92.6 90.6 91.6 93.4
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Concentrate grade
Zinc (%) 54.1 54.5 54.6 54.5 53.0
Lead (%) 74.7 73.4 74.0 76.2 74.9
Copper (%) 25.1 24.7 24.3 25.9 25.7
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Production (contained metal)
Zinc (tonnes) 83,209 18,703 20,053 24,022 20,431
Lead (tonnes) 37,246 8,198 8,953 9,747 10,348
Copper (tonnes) 3,059 673 864 986 536
Galmoy
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Ore mined (000 tonnes) 142 15 43 5 79
Ore milled (000 tonnes) 188 19 61 69 39
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Production (contained metal)
Zinc (tonnes) 8,989 925 2,565 331 5,168
Lead (tonnes) 1,131 116 364 33 618
Operating Statistics
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Total Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1
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Aguablanca
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Ore mined (000 tonnes) 755 368 198 148 41
Ore milled (000 tonnes) 577 368 209 - -
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Grade per tonne
Nickel (%) 0.5 0.5 0.4 - -
Copper (%) 0.4 0.5 0.4 - -
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Recovery
Nickel (%) 81.3 82.8 78.1 - -
Copper (%) 91.4 92.9 87.7 - -
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Concentrate grade
Nickel (%) 6.8 6.8 6.7 - -
Copper (%) 6.4 6.3 6.8 - -
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Production (contained metal)
Nickel (tonnes) 2,398 1,705 693 - -
Copper (tonnes) 2,260 1,563 697 - -
About Lundin Mining
Lundin Mining Corporation is a diversified base metals mining company with
operations in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Ireland, producing copper, zinc, lead
and nickel. In addition, Lundin Mining holds a 24% equity stake in the
world-class Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of
Congo.
On Behalf of the Board,
Paul Conibear
President and CEO
Forward Looking Statements
Certain of the statements made and information contained herein is
“forward-looking information” within the meaning of the Ontario Securities Act.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in
the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks and
uncertainties relating to foreign currency fluctuations; risks inherent in
mining including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or
unexpected geological formations, ground control problems and flooding; risks
associated with the estimation of mineral resources and reserves and the
geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future
exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the
Company’s expectations; the potential for and effects of labour disputes or
other unanticipated difficulties with or shortages of labour or interruptions
in production; actual ore mined varying from estimates of grade, tonnage,
dilution and metallurgical and other characteristics; the inherent uncertainty
of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and
expenses, commodity price fluctuations; uncertain political and economic
environments; changes in laws or policies, foreign taxation, delays or the
inability to obtain necessary governmental permits; and other risks and
uncertainties, including those described under Risk Factors Relating to the
Company’s Business in the Company’s Annual Information Form and in each
management discussion and analysis. Forward-looking information is in addition
based on various assumptions including, without limitation, the expectations
and beliefs of management, the assumed long term price of copper, nickel, lead
and zinc; that the Company can access financing, appropriate equipment and
sufficient labour and that the political environment where the Company operates
will continue to support the development and operation of mining projects.
Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from
those described in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are advised
not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
For further information, please contact:
Sophia Shane, Investor Relations North America: +1-604-689-7842
John Miniotis, Senior Business Analyst: +1-416-342-5565
Robert Eriksson, Investor Relations Sweden: +46 8 545 015 50